Use of Sedatives – What Is Permissible and What Is Not

19-7-2017 | IslamWeb

Question:

I am married and religiously committed, but I have been taking sedatives for a very long time, more than eight years now. I tried to quit many times but in vain. Take into consideration that these sedatives do not divert or prevent me from shouldering my religious duties or obligations towards my family and society or my responsibilities at work. On the contrary, they are very helpful.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

It is permissible to take sedatives and use them as medication because they are originally permissible unless there is evidence of their prohibition. Moreover, there is a benefit in using them. The fact that these sedatives contain anesthetic substances does not make them unlawful due to the necessity that entails using them.

This is if you are referring to sedatives that are used for nerve tension and similar conditions. However, if you mean drugs like opium and the like, then it is impermissible to consume these drugs because they are intoxicants in principle. Ibn ‘Umar reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, "Every intoxicant is khamr (wine), and every khamr is forbidden." [Muslim] Moreover, ‘A'ishah narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, "Anything that intoxicates is forbidden." [Al-Bukhari]

Allah knows best.